Executive order ends Monumental land grabs
As the environmental movement unfolded, Presidents courting green votes have increasingly used the Antiquities Act of 1906 to sequester large swaths of land -- and water -- from future public and private use -- all too often without the advice and consent of elected officials and citizen groups. These seizures have cost states and private citizens the use of these properties, and the revenue and enjoyment that come from such uses. President Trump's executive order is step 1 in putting a stop to these unpopular land grabs and hopefully to reopening noncritical acreage to a variety of human uses.